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Getting a start is difficult with the platinum cap being so low. If you want to be at the top 1% you will have to learn to vend. Lake kindred (LK) is a great for growth but is slow and tedious. The only way to exponentially increase your cash flow is through the marketplace (MP). This requires patience and not spending all of your gold! My hacks to successfully vend:

1. Collect charms (through LK and the MP) then craft horns of the demon or ancient katana in Go-Fusion. Be sure to run the numbers FIRST! Message venders for better bulk deals, or at least 5% off. You can resell the charms for profit as well. I prefer to craft the black horns of the demon when the prices go up. BEWARE, most items & RIGS in go-fusion are NOT worth crafting.

2. Buy low sell high. Items will naturally inflate and deflate. Actually look at the graphs and select YEAR! When the item is at a low point buy then re-list for profit, cacluate your earning with the 5% MP tax in mind. Set your listing for the 14 day period, this could save you time and ups your chances of selling.

3. My thoughts on inventory sale's in the forums: unless you have a large inventory and I mean 5-10k items do not bother. The amount of money you will make from an inventory sale in the forums is nothing compared to what you will make in your store. When people want an item they prefer it NOW. Not when you have time to respond & set up a trade. Even if you would have undercut the lowest buy price (LBP) people would rather have the item now than wait even 24 hours. I have a 22k inventory with a lot of unlisted items and I get 2 sales a week tops and they rarely purchase more than one item.. However that doesn't mean YOU shouldn't shop out of the forums as this is where the best deals are.

4. Think of your store like you would a business, treat your customers like you are actually IRL running a shop. Be polite, kind and offer what deals are realistic. It's better an item sells for less profit than to let it sit and you do not have the currency to capitalize on an investment opportunity. For example offer you customers 5% off via trade to encourage them to buy from YOU. If you leave a rude message on your store front there are people who would rather purchase the next cheapest listing (me).

5. Watch before you buy. Trending items tend to be katana's, halo's, demon tails, demon horns, wings, slippers, ninja headbands, any cosplay item and pokemon items. The graphs will show you the rate at which people are buying the items, but if you are ever in doubt stick to the trending items. They are less risky investments with a quick buy rate.

I am a long time vender since 2008. You will not profit on all sales but if you play it smart you will profit OVERALL. I personally remember a time where I gambled on an item no one was buying and lost 150k on that single item because I could not sell it for 5 months and the item depreciated in value and never went back up... rofl I have more tricks up my sleeve if interested my PM's are open to anyone with questions. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. biggrin